Bridgwater Trades Union Council secretary Dave Chapple has just published a new book as part of the Somerset Socialist Library series and it's available for just £5 plus £2 postage and packing.
Dave says "It is a biography of, and my tribute to, a remarkable Taunton man, Howard Andrews, who I met when he was 98, and remained close friends with until he died aged 101 in 2008.
"Andy" had a troubled upbringing in Kilburn, joined the army, trained as a medic, saw military service in British India and Shanghai, and, back in Kilburn by 1931, became both unemployed and an active communist who helped to keep the streets of London free of Mosleyite fascists.
Andy was a medical volunteer for 19 months in the Spanish Civil War, survived Dunkirk, and eventually found his way to Taunton in Somerset, where he was a pharmacist's assistant at Musgrove Park Hospital and won a national merit award from his union-COHSE-for his active recruitment.
Oh yes, and at the age of 100, Andy stole the show at the Glastonbury Festival Left-field!
The book is my tribute to a remarkable, if remarkably modest, man, and also a record of an unusual friendship."
The book is entitled "Soldier Saving Lives: Keith Howard Andrews" and is, A4-size, 56 pages, 21,000 words, beautifully designed by the South West TUC;s Nigel Costley, and profusely illustrated in both archive black and white, and contemporary full colour.
The book costs £5, plus £2 postage and packing, and can be ordered from:
Dave Chapple, 1 Blake Place, Bridgwater Somerset, TA6 5AU
1. Please make cheques out to "D T Chapple."
2. Please make BACS/fast/direct bank payments to my account:
Nationwide Bridgwater Branch: Sort Code 07 08 06 Account number 08257628
Dave has four more lockdown books in the publishing pipeline, thanks to the editorial and design support of Nigel Costley, and the generosity of his trade union, the CWU. Please look out for flyers for these in the coming couple of months. These books are listed in the Somerset Socialist Library section at the end of this book.
